Overview

Battlefield: Bad Company is the second console-exclusive game from the Battlefield series. One of the key features of Bad Company is the completely destructive environment, which is due to the unique Frostbite engine, built specifically for the game by DICE and later incorporated into future entries of the main Battlefield franchise. Battlefield: Bad Company was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 23, 2008, and unlike its successor Battlefield: Bad Company 2, was never ported to the PC.

Gameplay

Destruction

Gameplay in Bad Company is played from a first person perspective, and is built on the Frostbite engine. As the game is played through, players will be encouraged to use destruction to their advantage. The game contains many different weapons, which are classed as ‘Collectibles’. They are weapons that are hidden around different levels, and players are rewarded with achievements for collecting all the weapons. These weapons do not provide much help, as they cannot be selected through the game. They can only be used until they are dropped. Additionally, players are unable to change their weapon loadouts, as you start with a fixed weapon, in the form of the M416 assault rifle. Vehicles can also be used should they be found around the environment. Vehicles available include the staple of US military, in the form of the Humvee, the Russian Vodnik, Abrams, T90 MBT tanks, and other vehicles.

Story

The story to Bad Company is based around four soldiers in the United States army. These soldiers are part of ‘B-Company’. B-Company, or Bad Company as it is known, is a fictional army division full of expendable soldiers. These soldiers are nothing more than cannon fodder, and they are sent in on tasks deemed too dangerous for well known divisions, such as the Rangers. The story opens up with Preston Marlowe, the player character, being transferred to Bad Company. Preston meets up with three other soldiers: Sergeant Redford, Terrence Sweetwater, and George Haggard. These soldiers all have their own reasons and motives for being in Bad Company, and they all have unique personalities which will open up as the player continues through the game. The United States is in a battle with Russia, and need expendable soldiers, leading to the formation of Bad Company.

Sweetwater, Haggard, and Redford

The first mission of Bad Company is called ‘Welcome to Bad Company’, and introduces the player to the game with tutorials. It welcomes players to driving vehicles, shooting accurately, and other such basics of Bad Company. The mission starts with the group being transported through countryside in a transport truck, when their convoy is attacked by a Russian artillery barrage. The truck is extremely badly damaged, and Preston blacks out. When he comes to, the player is introduced to one of the unique features of the game – the ‘Auto Injector’, which automatically refills all health. After this, the game takes the player to another group of Russian artillery cannons, and allows them to use the Russian weapons against the Russians. To begin with, Sweetwater and Haggard overlook the value of Preston, and refer to him as ‘The New Guy’ or ‘Rookie’. They pass on menial tasks, such as searching houses, to Preston for this first mission. After pushing into the Russian controlled area, and pushing them out, they discover something truly worth fighting for….

Sweetwater discovers the dead body of a mercenary in a house. However, there is more to the mercenary than meets the eyes. Sweetwater calls the group over to see the body and is mocked for being so interested in one body. He explains that this is the body of one of the ‘Legionnaires’. The Legionnaires are a secretive mercenary group, that are supposedly the most powerful army in the world. Initially, nobody cares about this mercenary group, but their interest is piqued when Sweetwater reveals that the Legionnaires are always paid with gold. Haggard rushes to the body and searches it, before finding a small nugget of gold. This sets the story in motion.

Bad Company has lots of explosions like this one

After this, the soldiers are sent out to fight against the Russians again. The fight takes the group through a small town, as well as in a convoy of US tanks. After traveling in one of the US Abrams tanks, Preston is ordered to ride in one of the tanks and protect them from any Russian ambushes as they travel to a Russian-controlled town. In the town, the team are expected to destroy Russian anti-tank weaponry. Once this done, the group follows Russian transport trucks, that are believed to be used by the Legionnaire for transporting gold. These trucks are currently heading over the border into a country called Serdaristan. Haggard is so obsessed with the gold, that he chases the trucks as they travel across the border. This is classed as an invasion of Serdaristan, as he enters while armed. Haggard singlehandedly invades Serdaristan, and owing to the fact that Bad Company chased him in an attempt to stop him crossing the border, they also invaded the country too. They are ordered to explain their reasoning, and are then told that they are now classed as renegade AWOL soldiers. After this, Redford tells the group the army no longer want them, so they’re now going to go after the gold, as ‘they won’t be getting any damned medals now’. Sweetwater enquirers how the group will be organized seeing as Redford is technically no longer the leader of the team. Redford threatens him if he goes further with this inquiry, and Sweetwater backs down, before referring to him as Sarge.

Owing to the fact the group are in a now hostile country, and are now no longer members of any military force, they decide to continue the chase for the gold. The trucks are tracked to a harbor in Serdaristan, and the group decide to attack this port in a hope of stealing as much of the gold as possible. The Serdaristan forces and some of the mercenaries respond to the mini-attack with full force, and the group are forced to fight against an army they didn’t even mean to take on. After pushing into the harbor, the team are stopped by a small platoon of American soldiers. The group are instructed to lay down their arms, and surrender immediately. Haggard takes the opportunity to respond to this with “Oh yeah? You and what army?”, and Sweetwater asks him what he is doing. Haggard explains it’s simply a term he’s wanted to say for a considerable amount of time.

The squad on patrol

Seeing as the group remain expendable, the United States military send the group deeper into Serdaristan. Seeing as it is a hostile nation at this stage, they might as well let the renegade soldiers continue and potentially cause some good damage, so that they could spearhead a full invasion in the future. The group are sent in a UH-64 Black Hawk to an area near some anti-aircraft weapons, and are order to remove the anti-air. After this, the group enter a nearby golf course to remove any other weapons. After doing this, they move on through the golf course area, which is near the president’s palace. Bad Company decide to storm the palace and see if they could end the war through meeting the president. Fortunately, the president is something of a coward. When Bad Company request an extraction by the US, it is denied as they are renegade soldiers (this was the plan all along – send the team on a suicide mission). However, the Serdar president comes to their rescue, and offers the use of his Mi-24 Hind helicopter, assuming he can be taken from the country as well, as they are beginning to rise against him. Unfortunately, the Hind helicopter is gold, and is far from stealthy. The team are escaping through following the Serdaristan valley, and the president himself says that the Serdar army is “cowardly, though he has tried to improve this by spending vast sums of money on their weapons”.

Sweetwater questions what country they will be passing into, and the president says it is Russia. This is not a good sign considering the fact that the Russian army are hostile to the Americans – regardless of whether they’re AWOL or not. While Preston pilots the plane, he is asked by a member of the team, who asks why there is a black helicopter chasing them. This is one of the mercenary helicopters, and one of the mercenaries aboard the plane manages to nail the Hind with an RPG.

The plane crashes in the Russian forests, and Preston is unconscious. When he wakes up he discovers that the rest of the team has been separated from him, and the only weapon he has found is the MP-443 Grach pistol. The mission initially starts of in a stealthy manner, but stealth will soon go out of the window. Preston is told to check the large gulag at the top of the mountain. After entering the gulag, Preston finds the rest of his separated team, and the group steal a buggy, before speeding down the mountain and attempting to escape.

Not so happy in reality

After doing this, the group passes into a country known as Sadiz. Sadiz is a sandy Middle Eastern country, and is where the Legionnaires are apparently based. The team pass across into the building, and you will see the ship that was discovered during the second mission of the game. The team make their way to the ship, where they find a large warehouse nearby. In this warehouse, the crates of gold are discovered. However, as they enter the building, it is bombarded with bullets from a speeding helicopter gunship. This helicopter is being used by the leader of the Legionnaires, and killing him is vital to get the gold out safely. The Legionnaire leads them onto a large structure stretching into the sea, where he is shot down by Preston, who takes him down with a Carl Gustav rocket launcher. As the group return they are discussing what they plan to buy with their money. Haggard says he wants to buy a Monster Truck, called Truckasaurus Rex. As the group arrive, they discover the US army greedily loading gold onto trucks. The commanding officer believes Bad Company are part of the army, and asks what they are doing. Sweetwater prepares to give an explanation, but Preston quickly says that they are heavily embedded soldiers in enemy territory. Satisfied, the commander sends the men in a truck loaded with, err, ‘scrap metal’. The final scene of the game shows the convoy of trucks driving down a road in Sadiz, and one of the trucks turning off the road onto another sandy trail. Then, Haggard is heard shouting, “Truckasaurus Rex, here I come!”.

Multiplayer

Battling on Deconstruction

Bad Company features class-based online multiplayer. The Frostbite engine is carried over from single player into the online version of the game as well. Weapons online are split through four different classes. Different classes have weapons to select from. The game also contains 25 different ranks, which are achieved through earning XP. XP is earned from getting kills, assisting team mates in killing, and other such online actions. For each time that a player ranks up, they receive a Reward Point. This point can be cashed in for a new unlock, which is player selected. There are special weapons for achieving Rank 25, which cannot be unlocked through cashing in points. These weapons are the AN-94 Akaban, the VSS Vintorez, the USAS-15, and the MG3. There is one exclusive weapon per class, but these weapons are only available through Rank 25, or purchasing the Gold Edition of the game.

Initially, online multiplayer contained only one mode, called Gold Rush. This mode is based around the Russian and American forces, with one team the attackers and one team the defenders. Essentially an assault game mode, Gold Rush has two gold crates at each base of the defending team. The attackers attempt to infiltrate the bases and place charges on the crate and destroy it. Once both crates are destroyed, the defenders fall back to another base, until they run out of bases to make a stand at. The quantity of bases varies depending on the maps. Both teams have limited spawns, so both teams must use teamwork to win. The attacking and defending teams vary depending on the maps being played, as well as the initial weapon for each class. Some of the maps feature the Sadiz military versus the American army, as opposed to the Russians.

Due to the sheer community demand, Dice released a multiplayer expansion for the game that contains the Conquest game mode, and two new maps to play Conquest on. These maps are based on the game campaign.

Bad Company used a special feature called ‘Find All Five’. This was a promotional tool for Bad Company 2, and rewarded players for doing different things around the Battlefield site. Four of the five weapons were for different tasks, but the final weapon, the FN F2000, was only available through being a Battlefield Veteran. The Veteran system was implemented with the release of Bad Company, and rewards players for having played previous games in the Battlefield series. This system was used again Battlefield 1943, but did not reward Veterans with any bonuses. It was also later used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Maps

Valley Run

Deconstruction

Harvest Day

Over And Out

Ascension

Oasis

Final Ignition

End Of The Line

Weapons

Weapons contained in Battlefield: Bad Company are listed in the table below, along with the link to their page on the GiantBomb Wiki (if applicable).

Assault Rifles

Information

Image

AEK-971Main Article: AEK-971

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

AEK-971

AN-94Main Article: AN-94

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

AN-94

AUGMain Article: Steyr AUG

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

AUG

FN F2000Main Article: FN F2000

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

F2000

M16Main Article: M16

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

M16

M416Main Article: M416

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

M416

XM8Main Article: XM8

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

XM8

Support

Information

Image

M249 SAWMain Article: M249 SAW

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

M249 SAW

M60Main Article: M60

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

MG3Main Article: MG3

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

MG36Main Article: MG36

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

PKMMain Article: PKM

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

QJU88Main Article: QJU88

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

XM8 LMGMain Article: XM8 LMG

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

Specialist

Information

Image

9A-91Main Article: 9A-91

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

9A-91

AKS-74uMain Article: AKS-74u

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

PP2000PP2000 Main Article: PP2000

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

SCAR-LMain Article: SCAR-L

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

UMP .45Main Article: UMP .45

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

UziMain Article: Uzi

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

XM8 CompactMain Article: XM8 Compact

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

Recon

Information

Image

M24Main Article: M24

Fire Mode - Bolt Action

GOLMain Article: GOL

Fire Mode - Bolt Action

M95Main Article: M95

Fire Mode - Bolt Action

VSS VintorezMain Article: VSS Vintorez

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

QBU88Main Article: QBU88

Fire Mode - Semi Automatic

SVUMain Article: SVU

Fire Mode - Semi Automatic

SV-98Main Article: SV-98

Fire Mode - Bolt Action

Demolition

Information

Image

SPAS-12Main Article: SPAS-12

Fire Mode - Pump

TOZ-194Main Article: TOZ-194

Fire Mode - Pump

870MCSMain Article: 870MCS

Fire Mode - Pump

NS2000Main Article: NS2000

Fire Mode - Pump

Saiga 20KMain Article: Saiga 20K

Fire Mode - Semi Automatic

SPAS-15Main Article: SPAS-15

Fire Mode - Fully Automatic

USAS-12Main Article: USAS-12

Fire Mode - Semi Automatic

Levels

Chapter 1: Welcome to Bad Company

Tutorial

Stop the Artillery Shelling

Protect the Convoy

Objective Ram

Objective Mustang

Objective Impala

Objective Bronco

Objective Taurus

Chapter 2: Acta Non Verba

Proceed Towards the River Bank

Operation Backfield

Secure the Bridge

Objective Offside

Protect the Tanks

Assault East Zabograd

Groundhog Down

Secure Harbor

Chapter 3: Crossing Over

Saving Private Haggard

Cover Your Tracks

Chase the Gold

Locate the Gold

Chapter 4: Par for the Course

Reach the Vista Point

Destroy the Missile Launchers

Supply Drop

Reach the Supply Station

Reach the Palace

Capture the President

Chapter 5: Air Force One

Helicopter Tutorial

Move Out

Destroy Military Infrastructure

Move Out, Part 2

Cut Off Serdar's Supply Lines

Reach the Refuel Base

Refuel the Helicopter

Chapter 6: Crash and Grab

Locate Squad Inside the Village

Learn the Location of the Squad

Rescue the Squad

Reach the River Mouth

Chapter 7: Ghost Town

Reach Sadiz

Reach the Gold

Defend the Gold

Gold Edition

The Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company was a limited edition version of the game, which retailed for a higher price. The Gold Edition comes in a steel case that has a gold tint to it, contains an exclusive code to unlock the Rank 25 weapons immediately, and includes "Making Of…" disc, detailing the creation of Bad Company.